While it was long thought that only humans made and used tools, we now know that a variety of apes and monkeys are toolmakers. Elephants, crows, sea otters and octopus have also been observed making tools. Now, we can add dolphins … Continue reading
Rick Spilman
Two wonderful videos by Mystic Seaport Museum of the whaler Charles W. Morgan under sail, preparing for her 38th voyage. Charles W. Morgan 360 degrees … Continue reading
The Coast Guard has issued its final report on the sinking of HMS Bounty in October 2012. You can read the report here. In the report, there is one oblique reference to 1998 in which “the Seventh Coast Guard District … Continue reading
The Atlantic Monthly has a wonderful feature this month — World War I in Photos: The War at Sea by Alan Taylor. Moving troops and supplies by sea was vital to all armies involved in the war. The battle for … Continue reading
The North River Historic Ship Festival is returning for the sixth year to Hudson River Park’s Pier 25 in Lower Manhattan from Friday, June 20 to Tuesday June 24. The festival will offer 500 free boat rides aboard historic vessels, hands-on tours of … Continue reading
The historic lighthouse tender Lilac is celebrating the Summer season with a exhibition of Jonathan Atkin’s Hero Project. Hero Project is a selection from Jonathan’s on-going work-in-progress collaboration with dance artists aboard historic ships. His mission is to increase visibility of our maritime … Continue reading
There is a story that has been floating around the web about a 19 year old Dutch engineering student, Boyan Slat, who, if you believe the claims, has figured out how to clean almost half of the Great Pacific garbage patch in … Continue reading
Yesterday, the Charles W. Morgan set sail for the first time in almost a century. The whaling ship built in 1841 has been extensively rebuilt at Mystic Seaport Museum and successfully completed its first day of sea trials in Long Island … Continue reading
Yesterday, while maneuvering our 18′ catboat through the traffic in the Morris Canal on the West bank of the Hudson off Lower Manhattan, we had the pleasure of crossing paths with the schooner Lettie G. Howard. Lettie is an 1893 Fredonia-model fishing schooner owned and … Continue reading
A recent news story and video spins a fascinating mystery. Scientists in Australia tagged a healthy 9-foot great white shark. Four months later they found the tracking device washed up on a beach. The data in the the tracking device … Continue reading
I am aware of only one man who was praised by both Eisenhower and Hitler. General Dwight David Eisenhower said that “Andrew Higgins … is the man who won the war for us. … If Higgins had not designed and … Continue reading
The USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned naval warship afloat. The wooden three masted “super-frigate” in launched in 1797, is due for a three year overhaul and dry-docking starting in early 2015. Before the historic ship enters the shipyard, she will leave the … Continue reading
In New York City, there is a story told about Gallus Mag, the bouncer at the ‘Hole in the Wall‘, a bar and brothel on Water Street on the East River waterfront in the mid-1800s. Standing well over 6’ tall, she … Continue reading
A little over a week ago, we posted about a 90′ yacht, valued at around $10 million, which capsized and sank on her launching in Anacortes, Washington. Since then there has been no definitive determination as to what caused the … Continue reading
Discarded plastic is a major problem in today’s oceans. Plastics leach toxic chemicals into the seawater while otherwise not degrading. Recently researchers at Harvard University have announced they have created a new bio-degrable plastic based on, of all things, shrimp shells. We have posted … Continue reading
A few years ago we posted about a grand piano which rather mysteriously showed up on a sandbar in Biscayne Bay near Miami. A few days ago, a grand piano showed up on a sand beach beneath the Brooklyn Bridge … Continue reading
In The Torrid Zone, Alaric Bond’s latest novel in his Fighting Sail Series, HMS Scylla is due to return to England. Her crew is weary and the ship is in serious need of a refit. Yet, as soon as the ship reaches … Continue reading
There is a magic to ship’s figureheads. In Conrad’s Mirror of the Sea who wrote about the ships and figureheads that he saw on London’s docks: It was a noble gathering of the fairest and the swiftest, each bearing … Continue reading
UPDATE: Between the effects of the explosion, fire, and water put aboard in firefighting the Shoko Maru subsequently sank. The 2,242 DWT Japanese product tanker, Shoko Maru, exploded and caught fire Thursday morning, local time, while anchored about 5 kilometers off … Continue reading
Yesterday, we posted about the Big Rubber Duck, which is scheduled to lead the Tall Ships Grand Parade of Sail at the Tall Ships Festival L.A., August 20, 2014. One commenter suggested that we needed more rubber ducks while another suggested … Continue reading